NRA Will Argue in Second Amendment Case

The NRA will take an unspecified number of minutes from the plaintiffs who are challenging Chicago’s gun restrictions, and who are represented by Alan Gura of Gura & Possessky of D.C. and Virginia.

Adding the NRA to the list of those arguing may seem unremarkable, but in fact, the NRA has not been the pivotal player in the recent Supreme Court litigation over the Second Amendment. That title goes to Gura, something of an upstart, who took the landmark D.C. v. Heller case to the high court in 2007. As we reported at the time, there were old rivalries and no love lost between Gura and NRA lawyers, whom Gura felt were obstacles, not allies in the litigation.

Gura in fact opposed the NRA’s request for argument time in the McConald case on Jan. 9, arguing that hearing from the NRA would “at best be redundant.” Gura also wrote that the NRA “greatly overstates its role” in the litigation before the Court. Gura said, “The only factor separating NRA from the myriad other groups advocating for gun rights as amicus curiae is the payment of filing fees.”

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The NRA made its request for argument time in a Jan. 5 motion by its lawyer, former solicitor general Paul Clement, now at King & Spalding. Clement indicated the request was driven in part by the fact that the brief by Gura emphasizes the “privileges or immunities clause” argument in favor of applying the Second Amendment to the states, whereas the NRA wants to advance a more traditional “due process clause” argument for incorporation. Clement noted that the due process argument occupied only 7 of 73 pages in the petitioners’ brief. Gura, in his reply, said the due process argument “will be presented fully” at oral argument without the NRA intervening. Read more